ON THE SUBJECT OF A DIFFERENT SUBJECT
The every lovely Tansy Rayner Roberts has interviewed Lyn and I on the subject of food, kids , and how to hide zucchini, all for her website Kids Dish.
Check it out. If nothing else, at least we're not talking about writing :)
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FACES IN THE WORLD
Connor suffered a nightmare yesterday morning and woke me up, screaming and crying my name. I went in to his room and picked him up, whereupon he immediately reached out and locked the death-grip-hug around my neck, and snuggled his face hard into my chest. This was one boy who wasn't going to take well to going back in his cot. It was just before 5am, so I brought him into bed with us. He slid across me chest into the crook of my arm, wriggled about a bit, and fell back to sleep.
Disturbed by my re-entry, Lyn rolled over into the crook of my other arm, wriggled about a bit, and fell back to sleep.
So there I was, on my back, wide awake, arms around my beautiful wife and beautiful son, and enough light in the room to see them clearly. And they looked so peaceful, so restful, their faces unlined and clear of worry or upset, their hands resting against my chest so lightly, their skin so soft and smooth against my arms, that it was impossible for me to go back to sleep. I was entranced, looking from one face to another, until the alarm went off an hour later and the day began.
It's the loveliest morning moment I've had to myself in a long time.
UP IT GOES!
The Christmas Tree went up on the weekend. Lyn and her kids didn't do Christmas for years, so the raising of the tree is a big moment for them, and, you know, Erin and Connor are 5 and 2 :)
Every year we create a new decoration to hang: in 2004 we made a star & bauble-shaped hanger, last year it was little crackers, and this year I made a bunch of frames from pop sticks, which we decorated and drew a picture to fill. Cassie chose not to be with us, for the first time, and she's got some apology ground to make up after a performance and a half on her last visit, so there's still a frame and paper waiting for her. But the rest of us gathered around the textas and glue, and enjoyed our annual craft moment.
And then the tree came out of the shed, and the box of decorations, and the kids slowly and inexorably lost their minds :) Erin had brought home a big bag of self-made decorations from school, so the paper plate wreath and the cardboard streamer had to find homes, as well as the tinsel and the extruded plastic cheery things. The dining room was cleared of table and chairs. The branches of the this-is-not-coming-to-Brisbane-with-us tree were folded down. And then the riot began-- candy canes and crackers and tinsel and picture frames and climbing Santa figurines and the hat for the top because we don't do stars and angels and the teddy bear and the wire reindeer and the ceramic Santa kicking the soccer ball and baubles and the indescribable scribbly things and the other ceramic Santa bouncing the basketball and Connor's eaten one of the candy canes and oh well I guess we'd better have one as well and the hangers and the danglers and the balls and the wire things and this one's broken and when did we get that one and wait a minute wait a minute! Move that one and that one there and step back everyone and......
And you know what? It looks great :)
The every lovely Tansy Rayner Roberts has interviewed Lyn and I on the subject of food, kids , and how to hide zucchini, all for her website Kids Dish.
Check it out. If nothing else, at least we're not talking about writing :)
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FACES IN THE WORLD
Connor suffered a nightmare yesterday morning and woke me up, screaming and crying my name. I went in to his room and picked him up, whereupon he immediately reached out and locked the death-grip-hug around my neck, and snuggled his face hard into my chest. This was one boy who wasn't going to take well to going back in his cot. It was just before 5am, so I brought him into bed with us. He slid across me chest into the crook of my arm, wriggled about a bit, and fell back to sleep.
Disturbed by my re-entry, Lyn rolled over into the crook of my other arm, wriggled about a bit, and fell back to sleep.
So there I was, on my back, wide awake, arms around my beautiful wife and beautiful son, and enough light in the room to see them clearly. And they looked so peaceful, so restful, their faces unlined and clear of worry or upset, their hands resting against my chest so lightly, their skin so soft and smooth against my arms, that it was impossible for me to go back to sleep. I was entranced, looking from one face to another, until the alarm went off an hour later and the day began.
It's the loveliest morning moment I've had to myself in a long time.
UP IT GOES!
The Christmas Tree went up on the weekend. Lyn and her kids didn't do Christmas for years, so the raising of the tree is a big moment for them, and, you know, Erin and Connor are 5 and 2 :)
Every year we create a new decoration to hang: in 2004 we made a star & bauble-shaped hanger, last year it was little crackers, and this year I made a bunch of frames from pop sticks, which we decorated and drew a picture to fill. Cassie chose not to be with us, for the first time, and she's got some apology ground to make up after a performance and a half on her last visit, so there's still a frame and paper waiting for her. But the rest of us gathered around the textas and glue, and enjoyed our annual craft moment.
And then the tree came out of the shed, and the box of decorations, and the kids slowly and inexorably lost their minds :) Erin had brought home a big bag of self-made decorations from school, so the paper plate wreath and the cardboard streamer had to find homes, as well as the tinsel and the extruded plastic cheery things. The dining room was cleared of table and chairs. The branches of the this-is-not-coming-to-Brisbane-with-us tree were folded down. And then the riot began-- candy canes and crackers and tinsel and picture frames and climbing Santa figurines and the hat for the top because we don't do stars and angels and the teddy bear and the wire reindeer and the ceramic Santa kicking the soccer ball and baubles and the indescribable scribbly things and the other ceramic Santa bouncing the basketball and Connor's eaten one of the candy canes and oh well I guess we'd better have one as well and the hangers and the danglers and the balls and the wire things and this one's broken and when did we get that one and wait a minute wait a minute! Move that one and that one there and step back everyone and......
And you know what? It looks great :)
The beginning: the new picture frames are added
Aiden unwraps his new Hitler action figure with optional red party wig
Still life: loonies with tree
Still life... wait, we did that gag, didn't we?
Shove the lid on, wrap the box, and who can we send them to?
Song of the moment: Jump, They Say David Bowie
Reading: Endangered Species Gene Wolfe
2 comments:
Lookin' good, Mr. Battersby.
Reminds me, gotta get mine up.
Need to borrow some child helpers? :)
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